Visitors to The O2 will be treated to an unexpected exhibition this winter, as a group of young artists take over space outside London’s iconic music and entertainment venue to showcase their talent. 18 graffiti artists, street artists and fine artists have been donated space by The O2, who wanted to offer young people somewhere to express themselves. The exhibition, a collaboration between somewhereto_ and The Graffiti Life Company, will run for three months with the artists on display rotating each fortnight.

The artists displayed in the exhibition have little in common in terms of their background, influences or their styles but what they do have in common is a passion for getting their art seen by the public. Young artists often struggle to find places to display their art, some even painting illegally so that they have the opportunity to express themselves, so this exhibition offers them an amazing opportunity to get their art on display, legally and in a location where it will be seen by hundreds of thousands of people over the next few months.

The exhibition came about when somewhereto_ , a nationwide project to help young people find the space they need to do the things they love, were donated the space by The O2. somewhereto_ then brought on board Graffiti Life, a company that as well as taking commissions from companies like Nike, Topshop and Mercedes puts a huge amount of time and effort into working in the community with young artists to show them that their hobbies can become their career – if they take the right path.

somewhereto_ is run by Livity, a youth engagement agency, in partnership with Channel 4 Education and is funded by the Legacy Trust UK, an independent charity set up to help build a lasting cultural and sporting legacy from the London 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Games across the UK. This exhibition is just one of many ways somewhereto_ is partnering with like-minded organisations such as The Graffiti Life Company to create positive opportunities that reflect the talent of young people in the UK.

Riece Ranson one of the first young artists to have his work displayed at the exhibition commented: “I have been writing graffiti from a young age and I knew my hobby wasn’t something that I wanted to quit so needed to find ways to use my skills productively and legally. Companies like Graffiti Life and somewhereto_ really help promote artists like myself who are struggling to get work because of mistakes we’ve made in the past.”

Sam Conniff, Chairman at Livity said: “This is the chance of a lifetime for creative young people to gain access to a platform that will expose their art to a huge audience at a unique venue. This is what somewhereto_ is all about; young people thinking creatively about space and pushing the boundaries of its, and their, potential.”

Iona Thomas from The Graffiti Life Company said: “We were really pleased to be asked by somewhereto_ to curate this exhibition. We work with such a diverse collection of artists who are so talented and just desperate to find ways to showcase their work. We’re proud to have helped many young people take steps into a career in art and hope that this exhibition means that we can help many more.”

The exhibition is live now and will run until the 13th March, with a changeover day happening every other Tuesday.

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